Hydrocarbon-producing wells often are stimulated by hydraulic fracturing operations, wherein a fracturing fluid may be introduced into a portion of a subterranean formation penetrated by a wellbore at a hydraulic pressure sufficient to create or enhance at least one fracture therein. Stimulating or treating the wellbore in such ways increases hydrocarbon production from the well. The fracturing equipment may be included in a service assembly used in the overall production process.
In some hydraulic fracturing operations, the fracturing fluid enters the subterranean formation through one or more openings or bores. The openings may be formed using a variety of techniques including jetting, perforating using explosive charges, and using casing valves. Jetting requires that a fluid pass through a nozzle at high pressure, where the fluid is generally supplied through the use of pumps or other pressurization equipment at the surface of the wellbore. The use of numerous openings may require large volumetric flow rates of fluids at high pressure to form the appropriate openings. These high flow rates can result in a large pressure drop due to friction and other internal fluid forces, which is compounded by the increasing flow path lengths associated with wells being drilled to increasing depths. The maximum operating pressures of the pumping equipment therefore limit the flow rates and number of openings that can be formed using jetting in the subterranean formation.